Thank God for Tech Support!
My first Palm III did die after a drop from falling of my lap while I was sitting in a chair in someone else's office. As I leant over to grab it after I saw it drop, I notice it strike the floor on the bottom corner of the device by the power button. I think if it had fallen on its back or front it would have survived better. The device actually worked for about 24 hours then gave up the ghost.
The upside of the story is that the Palm tech support folks were first rate. They faxed a form within minutes of my request and within a few days I had a warranty replacement. All I had to do was ship back the original.